Choices

I have a sunny disposition and can usually be relied upon to find a positive slant on almost every situaton but I confess that having to deal with the fall out from Sunday's disaster has made me feel very grumpy.  What irks me most is that the dogs' owner can choose what happens next. All he has to do is prove to the Dog Warden's satisfaction that he will in future ensure the dogs are kept within his property and then they remain in hs care. He can choose to put them down if he fears that they may pose a threat to other animals or people, or not if he feels there is no threat. This irritates me no end as due to his negligence we had no choice about the demise of the rabbits, even though we were keeping them responsibly and in a safe place. I wish I could say that there is no doubt that the animals pose no threat but I am terribly afraid that one day in the future I will be forced to say "I did warn you" and it wll not be with any sense of triumph.

Mindless violence

Picture from The Guardian

Whilst we were solemnly observing two minutes silence on the train at Gatwick, pausing to think of all the fallen who have given so much so we may be free to choose our futures, a mini massacre was taking place in our garden.  A pair of Rhodesian Ridgebacks, escaped from their garden and roaming unchecked for the fourth time this week, launched such a ferocious attack on the hutch that it is broken beyond reasonable repair and the rabbits were left sadly defenceless. Thankfully the children were not present to see the ten minutes of carnage that left their beloved rabbits strewn in pieces across the lawn but their devastation has been heart rending to say the least. The dogs' owner has been, wringing his hands and wondering what he can do to make things better. As Lapin says nothing will make it better as Stanley cannot be replaced. As you can see, he was not your ordinary rabbit.

In the grand scheme of war and the many hundreds of thousands of lives lost, two rabbits is not the end of the world. However, we have lost two great friends and the gap in our lives is palpable.